Oil shale is an unconventional oil and gas resource, and because of its high utilization value, it has been listed as an important alternative energy source of the 21st century. In this study, through the analysis of raw ore, design and development of a composite dry sorting machine was proposed to sort the original ore, and the distribution rule of oil shale particles in separation tank was analyzed. The effects of trough height, amplitude, and frequency on layered separation of oil shale in trough were also systematically investigated. The results showed that under the best operating parameters (height = 55-60 mm, amplitude = 3.2-3.6 mm, and frequency = 36-39 Hz), the groove on the surface of the composite dry separation bed exhibited good sorting effect. The particles were clearly layered on the bed surface according to density. The oil content of the original ore was 4.39% and that of the obtained concentrate was 10.05%, and the yield was 40.57%. Moreover, the oil content of the tailings was 0.51%, and the yield was 59.43%. The composite dry separator shows a good separation effect on the recycling of oil shale. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.